Cliffs - I'm a high achieving young manager, I have faults, I want to address them with a coach, can I create a "plan" and what does it look like?
I've been thinking about my longer term career and although I am a high achiever I feel like I can do alot more to help my career and I am determind to help myself to progress. I get great results and am well liked by my directs and teams.
However I can come across as quiet and can find networking difficult or difficult to motivate myself to do it. I feel like I'm such a high D that some relationships are not as important (if you dont work for me) as perhaps they are to other people.
Recently I also missed out on a promotion and the feedback was "I'm one for the future" as I am relatively young compared to peers.
I want to be ready for any future opportunities and have a coach to help me. How do I get the most out of this and should I have some sort of written plan about myself that I am working on step by step and if yes do other people have them and what do they look like?
Any help/guidance appreciated
Hi mi5mark Great
Hi mi5mark
Great question! I had the exact same question at the end of last year when I thought about planning my long term career and ensuring that I'm on the right track.
I definitely think written down long term plan will help (unless you're VERY CLEAR in your head about what you want).
I'd welcome other ideas in terms of how other people do this. Below is just what I've done for myself, and I have personally found it effective.
The most important thing is to know exactly what you want to be at the height of your career. From there find out who is currently at where you want to be (internally or through Linked In) and then take them out for lunch. Find out how they got there and what tips they would give to you. Then break it down to as simple steps as possible and give them deadlines. Then action them!
For most people network is a contributing factor to their success, so I'd say regardless on where you want to be, practice networking skills. There's some great books and articles out there that gives tips on how to be a great networker. I always find that the bottom reason of why people are resistant to doing something is that their reason 'why' is not strong enough.
So find your reason why, set yourself easy targets to begin with, such as go to one networking event this month. Or within one week speak to two people I have never spoken to. Baby steps are key to keep you going in your long term plan.
It would be great if this person you've met could also be your mentor who can guide you regularly on your progress. At the moment I meet my mentor every quarter but you can do it more often if time allows. Not everyone can and want to be a mentor. It's probably best to ask directly after you've built some sort of relationship with them (ie. you've met at least 3 times).
If its taking a while to find a mentor, you can set yourself monthly reviews to keep track on your progress. I keep a weekly measurement on the things I'm working on and at the end of the month i can see how many things I've successfully implemented and how many I haven't. You have to be very honest with yourself otherwise it won't work.
Hope this helps. Feel free to get in touch to let me know how you're getting on
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www.sarahhaigbrown.com
Networking By Another Name
You're on the right track. I used to be in HR and our local HR chapter had a very good mentoring program. If your profession has a similar organization, becoming active in a local chapter is a great way to network and perhaps to find a coach or mentor.
Another way to network is to volunteer for a nonprofit. Nonprofit event committees are great places to network. You'll meet a cross section of people from many different industries. This may or may not help you directly in your job, but the confidence you gain from interacting will help you inside your profession. Or, you might wind up working beside someone three levels above you on the career ladder in your same profession.
Volunteering is also very fulfilling. Just be cautious of over committing yourself and make sure you follow through on your commitments (just like your day job).